1228 | 747 | Small mountain villages between major events, commercial resilience and heritage protection

The management of major events has two important implications for mountain territories: the need for careful land-use planning and the enhancement of the reputation of host localities, as was the case for St. Moritz in the Upper Engadine. A frequent consequence is the centralization of functions, powers and competencies in the central localities of some Alpine valleys. This phenomenon has been accentuated by the administrative unification of many municipalities, especially in Switzerland since the new millennium (Bartaletti, 2016). The consequence is that smaller municipalities have gradually lost their attractiveness to the local population, which is generally declining in favor of the larger centers._x000D_
It is necessary to avoid the excessive growth of some towns and the gradual abandonment of others. Therefore, a careful municipal policy, supported by creative spatial planning, will have to be implemented to give back to smaller towns the centrality and attractiveness that can attract new inhabitants and retain existing ones (Varotto, 2020)._x000D_
This research presents the case study of La Punt and other Upper Engadine villages, which focus on business resilience (Gambazza, 2020) and environmental and cultural heritage protection._x000D_
This way such small municipalities manage to balance the growth/attractiveness of St. Moritz (the tourist center of the valley) and Samedan (the administrative, productive and commercial center)._x000D_
•Bartaletti F. (2016), « La popolazione delle Alpi per fasce altimetriche », in Ambiente Società Territorio, anno LXI, n. 1, pp. 3-11._x000D_
•Gambazza G. (2020), Il commercio e la città media. Pratiche partecipative, percorsi di rigenerazione, Pàtron, Bologna._x000D_
•Varotto M. (2020), Montagne di mezzo. Una nuova geografia, Einaudi, Torino.

Matteo Di Napoli
IULM

ID Abstract: 747